What's under the wrapping?

mwild31 · December 2004

Anyone giving or getting some really fabulous gifts this year?

I have my son so snowed right now, he doesn't know he is getting the "only thing I've ever really, really, really wanted in the whole, entire WORLD mom" GameBoy Advance NDS. The system fits in your hand, so I wrapped it in a HUGE box filled with blankets. It's so much fun watching his glum little face staring at the Christmas tree x}>

mdm · December 2004

That makes it more fun for you. I've done this to a few people before, but I have usually wrapped something in 4 or 5 boxes. I bet you can't wait to see his face as he opens the box, rumages through the blankets, and discovers what's actually in the box.

The one gift that matters to my dad is that I am getting married next month. He told me that's enough of a gift for him.

LarryC · December 2004

mdm, pay for it yourself and REALLY make it a gift to him.

mwild31 · December 2004

mdm - Congratulations! What a great gift to your dad and what an exciting way to start the new year - a new chapter in your life! x:-)

You're right - I CAN'T WAIT :DD for Christmas this year and to see his face when he discovers the present x:D

HRinNH · December 2004

Congratulations on your marriage! Beginning a new life together is a wonderful gift, especially when it's with the right person. x;-)

Every member of our family made a wish list. They're getting shorter and more expensive every year. Both of our daughters have each circled their wants in the Craftsman sales flyer and left them with their wish lists.

My husband wants speakers from Cambridge Sound Works and a Dewalt cordless skill saw. I give up...

mdm · December 2004

Larry-How did you know my fiance and I are paying for this ourselves. Not cheap! $$$

HRinNH-Thank you! He is definitely the right one. We knew so quickly just a few months into our relationship, but it has taken us 4 1/2 years to get married. Gifts never get cheaper as kids get older.

mwild-Thank you! Hopefully this will make my dad happier than he has been lately. This is the first Christmas since his mom passed away.

Happy Holidays everyone!!! :DD

safety · December 2004

While this happened two years ago it was a hoot. I bought my son a regulation size pool table and hid it in the area under the staircase in the basement. Under the tree I put the pool balls in a wrapped package for him to open. As all kids do, he had searched under every bed, in every closet, and just about everywhere except under the staircase. When he opened the box with the balls in it he asked, “What am I supposed to do with these?” When he found out there had been an unassembled pool table under the stairs for over a month he just about had a cow. I don’t think I can top that one this year.

marc · December 2004

We have had a couple of lean Christmas's over the years. Once when we were in that kind of year, I bought my wife a fairly inexpensive little gift and then spent twice as much having it professionally wrapped. She knew the gift itself wasn't a big deal, but loved the way it looked. She liked looking at it so much and loved the anticipation so much that she waited until her birthday 3 months later to open it. What willpower - kind of reverse of anything I could ever do.

lhill · December 2004

Marc-what a great story! Sounds like you and your wife have a wonderful relationship. Also--congratulations to the almost newlywed.

Hunter1 · December 2004

Speaking of lean years, the Mother's Day that my wife remembers most fondly is the year that we scraped together all the change we could find in the house and rode our bikes with the kids about 7 miles into town and had lunch at the Dairy Queen. Sometimes it IS the thought that counts.

HRinNH · December 2004

My husband's family did not have the tradition of exchanging gifts...at all...any time of year. I didn't know this when we got married so I've had some 'training' to do, but I remember our first Christmas together (1981)...

We had very little money so we each bought the other one [b]A[/b] gift. We wrapped them carefully and put them under our little tree. He asked me every day after work if I had touched my gift to which I honestly replied "no". The build up was intense and I couldn't imagine what it could be. When the moment came and I could finally open it, to my surprise he had bought me a package of skirt hanger clips. Needless to say, it wasn't what I had expected and since he didn't get the reaction he thought he deserved, that was the last gift I received for long awhile.

Whirlwind · December 2004

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-19-04 AT 00:00AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I've already gotten one great Christmas gift from a friend at work that was modest in price but worth a million in laughs. I would recommend this as a stocking stuffer, or as a present for those with whom you exchange small gifts. It's a book called "Non Campus Mentis" and is a collection of excerpts from college students' essays and blue book exams on the subject of history. For example, who among us knew that Caesar was assassinated on the Yikes of March, and his last words were, "Me too, Brutus!"? Similarly, you might not have heard of the Canadian missile crisis, Florence of Arabia, or the Berlin Mall. I was laughing so hard at a burger joint where I was reading and having lunch today that a man came over to see what I was reading and then was going to rush out and buy the book. I won't quote from it further, lest I be busted by the copyright cops but -- trust me -- it's a winner.

Don D · December 2004

It doesn't fit in the 'fabulous gifts' category, but, I remember all those 'gift searches' I used to send my wife and small children on. At least half the fun of GETTING the gift, was FINDING the gift. It was a series of poems, each carefully wrapped in box and ribbon and each sending the recipient to another location in the house in search of the final box. A note in a box in the fireplace might say, "You've been a good boy, all year, it's true. Now go to my closet and look in a shoe". That would send my son scrambling down the hall to my closet and into the toe of each shoe (this would not work at S. Moll's house as it would never end).

Then a little box in the toe of a shoe might contain this note, "Now you looked in my shoes and I'm watching you smile; so now go look where laundry is in a pile." So, he had to figure out where that would be and dashed into the laundry room (closet with washer and dryer,ha) and rifled through a pile of clothes in a laundry basket atop the dryer. Well, that's the general idea. And finally the gift, whether small or large, inexpensive or not, but usually was, would eventually be found after watching him or her scramble all around the house for as long as 30 or 40 minutes. The anxiety was multiplied each time you found a box, not knowing if this was THE ONE or if it would hold yet another poem.

I guess there's a psychological term for this kind of torture inflicted by a parent/husband. x:-)

HRinNH · December 2004

I've played this game with my kids too and they loved it. They appreciated the gift more when it was finally found but I think it was more of a gift for me to watch their faces as they hunted out and tried to decipher the clues.

Shadowfax · December 2004

We used to do this with our kids too, but about 4-5 years ago my wife started doing it to her then 85 year old mother. Last year at 89 it was a total hoot. I think she enjoys it more than the kids did. I've accused my wife of trying to hasten her mom's demise because mom gets so excited and frustrated - but it is a lot of fun towatch.

Don D · December 2004

Your wife sounds very creative. Just be on guard in case she tries it with YOU and the first clue is something like:

In our big back yard there's a hopping, happy toad.

Now go jump like that and sit in the middle of the road.

JudyT929 · December 2004

This happened 5 years ago but it was my best Christmas ever! My daughter, Lisa, was 17 and a senior in high school. Knowing that she was going off to school and into adulthood I wanted that Christmas to be extra special, I splurged big time. She opened all her gifts which included a tv and stereo, we had some breakfast, one of her girlfriends stopped by and she showed off her gifts. By noon Lisa was in her room doing her own thing. Unbeknownst to Lisa the day before I had picked up a brand new Honda Civic and it was sitting out back in the driveway. I was waiting for my boyfriend to come over to share in the surprise but he got delayed with his own children. About 1:00 I told Lisa I was taking the dog for a walk, I walked the dog around back and drove the car around to the front of the house. I went back in the house and asked Lisa to walk the dog with me, she was rather "put out" but I said "come on, it's Christmas". She put on her jacket and we walked to the front door, as I opened the front door I reached in my pocket, pulled out the car keys and said "oh I forgot to give you this present". She was totally and completely surprised and thrilled! The look of joy on her face is something I will never forget, nor will I forget my "fear" as she drove away with the ribbons and bows streaming from the car! That was definetly my best Christmas ever!

mwild31 · December 2004

Wow! What a terrific story, Judy. I bet your daughter will remember that gift forever x:-). More than the money we may or may not spend, for me, I just love to give or receive gifts that involved a lot of thought and preparation. When I receive 'em, I know I'm loved - when I give 'em, they know they are loved - not because of the gift - but because of the thought and preparation involved. Happy holidays. x:-)

dbutton111 · December 2004

Hubby bought his own gift a couple of weeks ago. For years he's wanted a motorcycle (he had them when he was younger) but he had a bad back and couldn't ride one. Finally had surgery in August and a few weeks ago doc gave him the ok to ride a bike. He drove directly to the motorcycle dealer and bought one!

This year I'm giving him a black powder rifle. (?) I think that's what it's called. He e-mailed me a few different ones and I picked one.

My son and I went shopping this past weekend. It's our annual thing - we go shopping, have a nice lunch, and go to a movie - and he shops for his gifts to give to others. We went to a store that had a jacket he'd been wanting but I was afraid to buy it without him trying it on - they're hard to find and could take a while to get in another one if it didn't fit. So he found the one he wanted and I bought it for him.

He also wanted a paint ball gun but all I can see is our home with big splotches of red and blue and green paint all over it.

Hubby is getting my son a portable DVD player.

I'm also getting each of them a massage - actually two, one for 60 minutes and one for 30 minutes. They both have wanted one for years and have never really gone. We just joined a fitness center and they offer massages, thought it was a great gift for them. Something neither asked for but both will enjoy.

HRing · December 2004

Fabulous –maybe. I had asked my wife to share a memorable childhood memory. She was having a bad day and I thought having her focus on something pleasant might help her stress. Apparently, Brenda entered a contest in sixth grade; students submitted a short story to our local newspaper. The winner’s short story was published in the paper and the school and winner received recognition and prizes. She won! She told me that that when her school, teachers, peers, friends and parents found out she won – they all came together and celebrated her achievement. Brenda said she felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation that day and her only regret is that the story she wrote was lost (she does not have a copy). So I am giving her two gifts. I obtained a copy of the short story from the newspaper and had it framed at matted which I will give to her on Christmas. The second gift – my ongoing (and now communicated) appreciation of her.

Don D · December 2004

This reconfirms what I've always known; that we guys are much more resourceful than you girls! There's nothing more dynamic than a man who sets his mind to something and will do whatever it takes to get the outcome he wants, especially if it's for somebody else. Congratulations on finding that old story for your wife. I predict you will be the winner in the end.

HRinNH · December 2004

xclap You are a very thoughtful man and I'm sure this special gift will melt her heart...it certainly would mine!

lhill · December 2004

Wow, HRing! What a great gift. You guys can be very creative sometimes--I'm proud of you all.

Parabeagle · December 2004

HRing makes guys like me who swear by gift cards look like real pikers! Unfair! x;-)

sonny · December 2004

This is my VERY favorite type of gift. Good job HRing xclap

LeslieC · December 2004

My son also doesnt know he's getting the "ONLY" thing he really wanted: a new lacrosse stick. I mail ordered it and had it delivered to my office. Since he gets home before me everyday, he knows what arrives from where. So he's "sure" he isnt getting it. It is in 2 pieces so I can wrap it as 2 things and he still wont recognize it under the tree.

SMace · December 2004

Hey Wild, how'd it go? I appreciate your post. It made my Christmas much more enjoyable. I got my wife and I tickets to the candlelight tour of the Biltmore House in Asheville. We are going to tour in the evening then stay the night at the Biltmore Inn on the estate. Anyway, she is the world's worst and doing everything she can to find out what I get her as presents. She even called me at work posing as the credit card company to find out what I bought. I printed out the itinerary and wrapped it in a huge box and put a blanket in it. When she opened it, I told her it was an antique blanket and the story of the blanket (really the itinerary) was at the bottom of the box. She was so mad when she thought it was a blanket. The look on her face was priceless. She ended up happy and I might even get lucky! Thanks for the idea.

Don D · December 2004

I just hope and pray that amuminum boy doesn't show up and ruin the event! Unless you have a rollaway cot.

SMace · December 2004

I ate lunch with alum boy yesterday. We talked about the forum. You never know, he may appear again. He's not invited to the Biltmore event.

HRing · December 2004

Just an update –Brenda was very (very, very, very) happy with her gift. As far as brownie points – I believe I finally broke even.

What's under the wrapping?

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